Floral wrapper utilizing a breathable packaging material

ABSTRACT

A breathable packaging material used for packaging items, such as floral groupings, flower pots, fresh produce, food, medical supplies/equipment, pharmaceutical products, and the like, thereby forming a breathable package for containing said items. The breathable packaging material comprises a sheet of material having controlled atmosphere characteristics, and having a desiccant and/or an antimicrobial agent. Methods for using breathable packaging material.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a divisional of copending application Ser. No. 08/325,747 filedon Oct. 19, 1994, which is a continuation-in-part of application U.S.Ser. No. 08/188,183, filed Jan. 28, 1994, entitled METHOD FOR WRAPPINGAN OBJECT WITH AN EMBOSSED MATERIAL HAVING AN ADHESIVE THEREON now U.S.Pat. No. 5,388,386, issued Feb. 14, 1995; which is a continuation ofU.S. Serial No. 07/968,798, filed Oct. 30, 1992, entitled METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR COVERING PORTIONS OF AN OBJECT WITH A SHEET OF MATERIALHAVING PRESSURE SENSITIVE ADHESIVE APPLIED TO AT LEAST A PORTION OF ATLEAST ONE SURFACE OF THE SHEET OF MATERIAL, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,934,issued Dec. 6, 1994; which is a continuation of U.S. Serial No.07/865,563, filed Apr. 9, 1992, entitled METHOD FOR WRAPPING A FLORALGROUPING, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,814, issued Sep. 21, 1993; which is acontinuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/649,379, filed Jan. 31, 1991, entitledMETHOD FOR WRAPPING AN OBJECT WITH A MATERIAL HAVING PRESSURE SENSITIVEADHESIVE THEREON, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,638, issued May 12, 1992;which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 249,761, filed Sep. 26, 1988,entitled METHOD FOR WRAPPING AN OBJECT WITH A MATERIAL HAVING PRESSURESENSITIVE ADHESIVE THEREON, now abandoned.

This application is also a continuation-in-part of application U.S. Ser.No. 08/253,648, filed Jun. 3, 1994, entitled WRAPPING A FLORAL GROUPINGWITH SHEETS HAVING ADHESIVE OR COHESIVE MATERIAL APPLIED THERETO nowabandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/965,585, filed onOct. 23, 1992, entitled WRAPPING A FLORAL GROUPING WITH SHEETS HAVINGADHESIVE OR COHESIVE MATERIAL APPLIED THERETO, now abandoned; which is acontinuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/893,586, filed Jun. 2, 1992, entitledWRAPPING A FLORAL GROUPING WITH SHEETS HAVING ADHESIVE OR COHESIVEMATERIAL APPLIED THERETO, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,364, issued Jan. 26,1993; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/707,417, filed May 28,1991, entitled WRAPPING A FLORAL GROUPING WITH SHEETS HAVING ADHESIVE ORCOHESIVE MATERIAL APPLIED THERETO, now abandoned; which is acontinuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/502,358, filed Mar. 29, 1990, entitledWRAPPING A FLORAL GROUPING WITH SHEETS HAVING ADHESIVE OR COHESIVEMATERIAL APPLIED THERETO, now abandoned; which is a continuation-in-partof U.S. Ser. No. 249,761, filed Sep. 26, 1988, entitled METHOD FORWRAPPING AN OBJECT WITH A MATERIAL HAVING PRESSURE SENSITIVE ADHESIVETHEREON, now abandoned.

This application is also a continuation-in-part of application U.S. Ser.No. 08/108,093 filed Aug. 17, 1993, entitled ARTICLE FORMING SYSTEM, nowabandoned,; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/024,573, filedMar. 1, 1993, entitled ARTICLE FORMING SYSTEM now abandoned; which is acontinuation of 07/464,694, filed Jan. 16, 1990, entitled ARTICLEFORMING SYSTEM, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,027, issued May 4, 1993; whichis a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 219,083, filed Jul. 13, 1988,entitled ARTICLE FORMING SYSTEM, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,897,031, issuedJan. 30, 1990; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 004,275, filedJan. 5, 1987, entitled ARTICLE FORMING SYSTEM, now U.S. Pat. No.4,773,182, issued Sep. 27, 1988; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser.No. 613,080, filed May 22, 1984, entitled ARTICLE FORMING SYSTEM, nowabandoned.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to decorative material and particularly, materialhaving a controlled atmosphere which permits a defined permeability ofspecific substances and/or gases, said material also having substanceswhich inhibit both excessive moisture and/or substances which inhibitthe growth of microorganisms, said material used to wrap objects, andmethods of using same.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the breathable packaging materialconstructed in accordance with the present invention showing the uppersurface, a corner of the sheet of material turned back for illustrationpurposes only to show the lower surface.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the upper surface of the first sheet ofmaterial constructed in accordance with the present invention, the upperand lower surfaces being identical.

FIG. 3 is perspective view of the upper surface of a modified sheet ofmaterial similar to the sheet of material of FIG. 1 but showing a roundaperture formed in the center of the sheet of material, the roundaperture covered by a round second sheet of material sized slightlylarger than the round aperture, the second sheet of material connectedto the sheet of material.

FIG. 4 cross sectional view of FIG. 3 taken at 4--4 showing the secondsheet of material 34 connected to and covering the round aperture in thesheet of material.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a plurality of sheets of materialconstructed in accordance with the present invention forming acontinuous roll of sheets, the sheets separated by perforations, and theroll partially unrolled to reveal a single sheet still attached thereto.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a roll of breathable packagingmaterial wherein the roll of breathable packaging material is disposedinto dispenser for separating the roll into separate sheets of materialand dispensing the separate sheets of material from the roll ofbreathable packaging material.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a roll of breathable packagingmaterial wherein the roll comprises a single sheet of material.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a pad of sheets of breathable packagingmaterial constructed in accordance with the present invention, showingan edge of the top sheet lifted, exposing the next sheet of material.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the pad of sheets of breathablepackaging material shown in FIG. 8, but showing the top sheet ofmaterial being detached from the next sheet of material.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a roll of breathable packaging materialconstructed in accordance with the present invention, showing a knifeedge being actuated by an actuator to cut at least a portion of the rollof breathable packaging material into elongated strips of breathablepackaging material.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the roll of breathable packagingmaterial of FIG. 10, but showing the knife edge being actuated in asecond direction, to cut the elongated strips of breathable packagingmaterial into small pieces of breathable packaging material.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a floral grouping disposed on a sheetof breathable packaging material.

FIG. 13 is a respective view of the floral grouping of FIG. 12 beingwrapped in one method of wrapping.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the floral grouping of FIGS. 12 andwrapped in a conical fashion.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of another method of using a sheet ofbreathable packaging material to wrap a floral grouping in a cylindricalfashion.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the sheet ofbreathable packaging material of the present invention shown with a potdisposed upon the sheet of material.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the sheet of breathable packagingmaterial of FIG. 16, but showing the sheet of material partially wrappedabout the flower pot.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the sheet of breathable packagingmaterial of FIGS. 16 and 17 wrapped about a flower pot.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a pre-formed decorative pot coverformed from sheet of breathable packaging material.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a potted plant, the pot substantiallycovered by the pre-formed decorative pot cover of FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the sheet ofmaterial of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention, but showinga wrapper comprising a sleeve for wrapping a floral grouping,constructed in accordance with the breathable packaging materials of thepresent invention.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the wrapper of FIG. 21 but showing thefloral grouping disposed inside of the wrapper with the bloom portionnear the first end and the stem portion extending from the second end.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the wrapper of FIG. 22 but showing thewrapper crimped about the stem portion of the floral grouping, thecrimped portion forming overlapping folds.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of a modified wrapper similar to thewrapper shown in FIG. 23 but having the bonding material disposed on theouter surface of the sleeve, and showing the wrapper crimped about thestem portion of the floral grouping, the crimped portion formingoverlapping folds.

FIG. 25 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the presentinvention, showing a wrapper comprising a sleeve for covering a flowerpot, the vertical perforations torn at the upper portion of the sleeve.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of the wrapper of FIG. 25, but showing thevertical perforation torn open and the circumferential perforationsbeing torn.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of the wrapper of FIGS. 25 and 26, butshowing the upper portion torn away and the remaining lower portion of asleeve forming a decorative cover about the pot.

FIG. 28 is a perspective view of still another embodiment of the presentinvention, showing a wrapper for a floral grouping, wherein the wrapperis sized to wrap a single bloom.

FIG. 29 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of the presentinvention, showing a modified sheet of material similar to the sheet ofmaterial shown in FIG. 1, the modified sheet of material beingtransparent and having a bonding material disposed about the periphery,an apple disposed near the first side of the sheet of material, aportion of the sheet of material starting to overlap the apple.

FIG. 30 an elevational side view of the sheet of material and appleshown in FIG. 30, but showing the sheet of material overlapping andsealing to itself, thereby sealing the apple therein, forming abreathable package.

FIG. 31 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a decorativecover constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 32 is a side elevational view of the decorative cover of FIG. 31showing the decorative cover formed into a breathable package andsealed.

FIG. 33 is a side elevational view of the decorative cover of FIG. 31showing the decorative cover formed into a breathable package andsealed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The Embodiments of FIGS. 1-4

Several disadvantages exist in providing a wrapping or packaging forfresh flowers. These same drawbacks also apply to providing a wrappingfor fresh produce and/or food. Further, many of these same disadvantagesalso apply to providing a wrapping for medical supplies/equipment, andfor a wrapping or packaging for pharmaceutical products.

In the case of a floral grouping, for example, it is desirable to have awrapping which permits a flow of a selected atmosphere to the packagedfloral grouping. Such wrapping/packaging further would often usedesiccants thereon or therein to reduce excess moisture, so that thegrowth of likelihood of unwanted microorganisms is reduced. Along thissame line, such packaging further frequently would have antimicrobialagents incorporated therein or disposed thereon to reduce and/oreliminate unwanted microorganisms, such as, but not by way oflimitation, fungi, bacteria, algae, and the like. Such an inventionwould also include non-fogging agents, so that the item packaged wouldremain clearly seen through such packaging.

The present invention contemplates a breathable packaging materialcomprising a sheet of material having at least portions thereof whichpermit selective control of the atmosphere to which the contents areexposed (termed "controlled atmosphere" materials and/or "controlledatmosphere characteristics"), that is, the material is permeable to someelements, substances and/or compositions (in either liquid or gaseousform), but impermeable to others. Further, the sheet of materialincorporates therein and/or has disposed thereon a desiccant and/or anantimicrobial agent. In this manner such items as floral groupings,fresh produce, food, pharmaceutical products, and/or medicalsupplies/equipment may be packaged such that the item contained thereinis maintained in the most commercially viable manner, and for an idealor more controlled length of time.

Turning now to FIG. 1, designated therein by the general referencenumeral 10 is a breathable packaging material. The breathable packagingmaterial 10 comprises a sheet of material 11.

The sheet of material 11 has an upper surface 12, a lower surface 14,and an outer periphery 15. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outerperiphery 15 further comprises a first side 16, a second side 18, athird side 20 and a fourth side 22.

A bonding material 24 may be disposed on the upper surface 12 of thesheet of material 11 (not shown). Alternatively, however, the sheet ofmaterial 11 may be free of a bonding material. The bonding material 24,if present, is disposed in one embodiment substantially over the uppersurface 12 of the sheet of material 11. The bonding material 24 may alsobe disposed upon the upper surface 12 in a strip of bonding material 24,although the bonding material 24 also could be applied to the uppersurface 12 of the sheet of material 11 in the form of spaced apart spotsor the bonding material 24 also could be disposed on the upper surface12 of the sheet of material 11 in any other geometric or non-geometricor asymmetric forms, and in any pattern, including fanciful patterns.

The sheet of material 11 has a thickness in a range from about 0.1 milsto about 10 mils. Frequently, the sheet of material has a thickness in arange from about 0.2 mils to about 3.5 mils. The sheet of material 11 isconstructed of a material which is flexible.

The sheet of material 11 may be any shape and a rectangular shape isshown in FIG. 1 only by way of example. The sheet of material 11 forexample only may be square, rectangular, circular or any othergeometric, non-geometric, asymmetric or fanciful shape, such as, but byway of example only, heart shaped.

The sheet of material 11 may be constructed of a single layer ofmaterial or a plurality of layers of the same or different types ofmaterials. The layers of material comprising the sheet of material 11may be laminated together or connected together by any method describedherein or known in the art.

The sheet of material 11 has a length 26 extending between the third andfourth sides 20 and 22, respectively, of the sheet of material 11. Thesheet of material 11 also has a width 28 extending between the first andthe second sides 16 and 18, respectively, of the sheet of material 11.

As noted earlier, a bonding material 24 may be disposed on the uppersurface of the sheet of material 11, or, alternatively, to any othersurfaces of any sheets of material described herein. The bondingmaterial 24 may be applied as a strip or as spots or other shapes. Onemethod for disposing a bonding material, in this case an adhesive, on asheet of material is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,637, entitled,"Method For Wrapping A Floral Grouping", issued to Weder et al. on May12, 1992 and which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Anothermethod for disposing a bonding material in order to laminate two sheetsof material is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,297,811, entitled,"Laminated Printed Foil Flower Pot Wrap With Multicolor Appearance,"issued to Weder on Nov. 3, 1981.

The term "bonding material" when used herein means an adhesive, possiblya pressure sensitive adhesive, or a cohesive. Where the bonding materialis a cohesive, a similar cohesive material must be placed on theadjacent surface for bondingly contacting and bondingly engaging withthe cohesive material. The term "bonding material" also includesmaterials which are heat sealable and, in this instance, the adjacentportions of the material must be brought into contact and then heat mustbe applied to effect the seal. The term "bonding material" when usedherein also means a lacquer, which may be applied to the sheet ofmaterial and, in this instance, heat, sound waves, or vibrations, alsomust be applied to effect the sealing of the lacquer.

It will be appreciated that the sheet of material 11 may form a singleor multiple sheets of material 64, pads of material, and/or rolls ofmaterial, the latter two being described in detail below. Further, thesheet of material 11 may consist of designs or decorative patterns whichare printed, etched, and/or embossed thereon using inks or otherprinting materials. An example of an ink which may be applied to one ormore surfaces of the sheet of material 11 is described in U.S. Pat. No.5,147,706, entitled, "Water Based Ink On Foil And/Or Synthetic OrganicPolymer", issued to Kingman on Sep. 15, 1992 and which is herebyincorporated herein by reference.

The sheet of material 11 may have various colorings, coatings,embossings, flocking and/or metallic finishes, or other decorativesurface ornamentation applied separately or simultaneously or may becharacterized totally or partially by pearlescent, translucent,transparent, iridescent or the like, qualities. Each of the above-namedcharacteristics may occur alone or in combination and may be applied tothe upper surface 12 and/or lower surface 14 of the sheet of material11. Moreover, each surface of the sheet of material 11 may vary in thecombination of such characteristics. The sheet of material 11 may beopaque, translucent, clear, tinted transparent, or any combinationthereof.

The bonding material 24 may be used to laminate two or more sheets ofmaterial 11 together and may also be tinted or colored by using a dye,pigment, or ink. In this manner, different coloring effects areprovided, and the multiple sheets of material 11 may be given a coloredappearance by use of a colored bonding material 24. U.S. Pat. No.5,147,706 described immediately above provides one water based ink whichmay be used to tint one or more sheets of material 11 or which may beused to tint the bonding material 24.

In a preferred embodiment, the sheet of material 11 is a plasticmaterial constructed from a plastic film having controlled atmospherecharacteristics, that is, a film which is permeable to some substancesand/or gases, but impermeable to others. Such a plastic film isavailable from Hercules Incorporated, Hercules Plaza, Wilmington, Del.19894. Different plastic films, or combination of films, may be utilizedaccording to contents of the package and the controlled atmospheredesired within such packages, as described in detail below.

Controlled atmosphere film and methods of making said films aredisclosed and described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,875, entitled,"Controlled Atmosphere Package", issued to H. Anderson on Jun. 27, 1989;U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,078, entitled, "Process For Producing UniaxialPolyolefin/Filler Films For Controlled Atmosphere Packaging", issued toM. Antoon, Jr. on Nov. 7, 1989; U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,032, entitled,"Water-Permeable Controlled Atmosphere Packaging Device From Cellophaneand Microporous Film", issued to M. Antoon, Jr. on Mar. 20, 1990; U.S.Pat. No. 4,923,650, entitled, "Breathable Microporous Film And MethodsFor Making It", issued to M. Antoon, Jr. et al. on May 8, 1990; U.S.Pat. No. 5,011,698, entitled, "Breathable Microporous Film And MethodsFor Making It", issued to M. Antoon, Jr., et al. on Apr. 30, 1991; U.S.Pat. No. 5,045,331, entitled, "Container For Controlled AtmospherePackaging", issued to M. Antoon, Jr. on Sep. 3, 1991; U.S. Pat. No.5,160,768, entitled, "Curable Silicone-Coated Microporous Films ForControlled Atmosphere Packaging", issued to M. Antoon, Jr. on Nov. 3,1992; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,401, entitled, "Packaging Material ForControlled Atmosphere Packaging", issued to R. Kelch et al. on Oct. 19,1993, all of which are hereby specifically incorporated by referenceherein.

The sheet of material 11 is constructed from any suitable wrappingmaterial which is formed and manufactured to provide a controlledatmosphere, or which incorporates those features to a controllabledegree from one or more other materials. Further, the sheet of material11 must be capable of being wrapped about a flower pot or floralgrouping, used as a sleeve or wrapper for a flower pot and/or floralgrouping, including, but not by way of limitation, a single item, suchas a single flower, a single item of produce, or a single medicalsupply/equipment. Further, the sheet of material 11 may be used as ashredded decorative material, such as, but not by way of limitation,confetti, decorative grass, tinsel, glitter, sequins, flakes, and thelike. Further, the sheet of material 11 must also be suitable for makingsmall die-cut items, such as decals, labels, stickers, stars, and thelike. Frequently, the sheet of material 11 comprises plastic film, butthe sheet of material may comprise paper (the term "paper" as usedherein means treated or untreated paper, corrugated paper or cardboardor any other form of paper material), cellophane, foil, metallized film,fabric (woven or nonwoven or synthetic or natural), burlap, orcombinations thereof.

The term "plastic film" as used herein means a film comprising athermo-plastic resinous material, such as, but not by way of limitation,a polymer such as, for example only, a polypropylene. The term "plasticfilm" as used herein also means a film comprising a naturally occurringpolymer such as cellophane. A plastic film, as contemplated anddescribed in detail herein, is relatively strong and not as subject totearing (substantially non-tearable), as might be the case with paper orfoil.

The sheet of material 11 also has a desiccant 30 which is disposed uponand/or incorporated in the sheet of material 11. Such desiccantsinclude, for example, but not by way of limitation, calcium chloride andsilica gel. It will be understood that a number of desiccants are knownto those having ordinary skill in the art, and it will be appreciatedthat the precise amount of desiccant(s) disposed on or incorporated inthe sheet of material 11 is dependent upon the results sought and theitems to be packaged therein. Generally, moisture will be reduced in thepackaged item due to the contact of the sheet of material 11 with theitem until such time as the desiccant 30 is substantially dissipatedfrom the sheet of material 11. The duration of action of the desiccant30 will depend, in part, upon the desiccant(s) used, the concentrationof the desiccant(s) used, and the exposure of the of the desiccant(s) toatmospheric conditions.

The sheet of material 11 also has an antimicrobial agent 32 disposedthereon and/or incorporated therein. The term "antimicrobial agent" asused herein means an agent possessing antifungal properties,antibacterial (bacteriostatic or bacteriocidal) properties, and/orantimicrobial properties. "Antimicrobial agent(s)" inhibits and/orprevents the growth of antifungal properties on articles such as afloral grouping, fresh produce, and medical equipment or supplies.Antimicrobial agents which may be utilized with various materials aredisclosed and described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 3,044,885, entitled,"Impregnated Sheets For Preserving Perishable Foodstuffs", issued to B.Loehr on Jul. 17, 1962; U.S. Pat. No. 3,493,464, entitled,"Fungus-Resistant Paper Containing Metallic Quinolinolate Formed In SituAnd Process Thereof", issued to A. Bowers et al. on Feb. 3, 1970; U.S.Pat. No. 3,653,873, entitled, "Ethylenic Sulfilimine Compositions ForControlling Fungi, Bacteria and Algae", issued to H. Bayer on Apr. 4,1972; U.S. Pat. No. 3,728,213, entitled, "Antibiotic Paper", issued toC. Hinz on Apr. 17, 1973; U.S. Pat. No. 3,864,468, entitled, "ActivatedPolymer Materials and Process For Making Same", issued to S. Hyman etal. on Feb. 4, 1975; U.S. Pat. No. 3,959,556, entitled, "AntimicrobialBlended Yarns and Fabrics Comprised of Naturally Occurring Fibers",issued to W. Morrison on May 25, 1976; U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,944,entitled, "Fungicidal Paper", issued to W. Long on Dec. 21, 1976; U.S.Pat. No. 4,008,351, entitled, "Film Or Sheet Material HavingAntibacterial And Antifungal Activities", issued to M. Inoue et al. onFeb. 15, 1977; U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,922, entitled, "Hydrophilic RandomInterpolymer From Quaternary Ammonium Monomers And Method For MakingSame", issued to C. Beede et al. on Sep. 5, 1978; U.S. Pat. No.4,343,853, issued to W. Morrison on Aug. 10, 1982; U.S. Pat. No.4,401,712, entitled, "Antimicrobial Non-Woven Fabric", issued to W.Morrison on Aug. 30, 1983; U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,435, entitled,"Antimicrobial Paper", issued to H. Intili on Aug. 6, 1985; U.S. Pat.No. 4,663,077, entitled, "Microbiocidal Compositions Comprising An ArylAlkanol And A Microbiocidal Compound Dissolved Therein", issued to N.Rei et al. on May 5, 1987; U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,706, entitled, "DelayedRelease Insecticidal Composition And Method Of Making Same", issued toR. Farquharson et al. on May 19, 1987; U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,448,entitled, "Organic Carrier With Integrated Active Substances", issued toM. Bahadir et al. on May 10, 1988; U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,175, entitled,"Aseptic Packaging", issued to K. Burton, Jr. et al. on Dec. 19, 1989,and U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,052, entitled, "Antimicrobial Material AndMethods", issued to D. Weder on Sep. 7, 1993, all of which are herebyspecifically incorporated by reference herein.

It will also be understood that many antimicrobial agents are known inthe art. It will further be appreciated that the precise amounts ofantimicrobial agent(s) 32 used is dependent upon the results sought andthe items to be packaged. Generally, microorganisms will be eliminatedor inhibited in the packaged item due to the contact of the sheet ofmaterial 11 with the item until such time as the antimicrobial agent issubstantially dissipated from the sheet of material 11. The duration ofaction of the agent(s) 32 will depend, in part, upon the agent(s) used,the concentration of the agent(s) used, and the exposure of the of theagent(s) to atmospheric conditions.

The sheet of material 11 may also have a non-fogging agent (not shown)disposed thereon or incorporated therein. It will be appreciated thatnon-fogging agents are known in the art. It will further be appreciatedthat the precise amounts of non-fogging agents used is dependent uponthe results sought and the items to be packaged. Generally, fogging ofthe packaging will be eliminated or inhibited in the packaged item dueto the contact of the sheet of material 11 with the item until such timeas the non-fogging agent is substantially dissipated from the sheet ofmaterial 11. The duration of action of the agent will depend, in part,upon the agent(s) used, the concentration of the agent(s) used, and theexposure of the of the agent(s) to atmospheric and/or packagedconditions.

The antimicrobial agent 32, the desiccant 30, the non-fogging agentand/or the bonding material 24 may be disposed upon the sheet ofmaterial 11 by any method known in the art, including, but not by way oflimitation, spraying, brushing, immersing the sheet of material in theantimicrobial agent 32, desiccant 30 and/or bonding material 24, and (inthe case of the antimicrobial agent 32, the desiccant 30 and/or thenon-fogging agent) exposure of the sheet of material 11 toagent-containing gas and/or desiccant-containing gas, or mixing and/orincorporating the desiccant 30 and/or the non-fogging agent and/or theantimicrobial agent 32 in a dye, pigment, ink, lacquer, or anycombination thereof, or any other medium, which is then applied to thesheet of material 11. Further, it will be understood that the bondingmaterial 24, the desiccant 30, the non-fogging agent and/or theantimicrobial agent 32 may be disposed upon or incorporated in any itemsuch as, but not by way of limitation, tape, labels, stickers, decals,and the like, and then applied to the sheet of material 11. It will beappreciated that the entire sheet of material 11 may be treated in themanner described immediately above, or, alternatively, only a portionthereof may be treated. The antimicrobial agent, the non-fogging agentand/or the desiccant may also be incorporated into the sheet of material11 before or during formation of the sheet of material 11.

The desiccant 30, the non-fogging agent and/or the antimicrobial agent32 may also be mixed with or incorporated in the bonding material 24,the bonding material 24 then being disposed upon at least a portion ofthe sheet of material 11. Methods for such mixing and/or incorporationare know in the art, as are methods for disposing bonding material onsheet material. The desiccant 30, the non-fogging agent and/or theantimicrobial agent may also be mixed with or incorporated into alacquer, the lacquer then being disposed upon at least a portion of thesheet of material 11.

The desiccant 30, the non-fogging agent and/or the antimicrobial agent32 may alternatively be disposed upon the sheet of material 11 viamicrocapsules. Suitable microcapsules and methods which may be utilizedwith the above-referenced materials (i.e., desiccants, antimicrobialagents, non-fogging agents and/or bonding materials) are disclosed anddescribed in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,381, entitled, "Multi-LayerSandwich Sheet and Packaging Using The Said Sheet", issued to G. Holzneron Feb. 5, 1991; U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,557, entitled, "Fragrance SamplingDevice", issued to J. Charbonneau on Jan. 29, 1991; U.S. Pat. No.4,925,517, entitled, "Method Of Forming Fragrance Releasing Pull-ApartSheets", issued to J. Charbonneau et al. on May 15, 1990; U.S. Pat. No.4,848,929, entitled, "Volatile Emitting Container", issued to H. Rawl onJul. 18, 1989; U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,264, entitled, "On Page FragranceSampling Device", issued to R. Dreger on Sep. 6, 1988; U.S. Pat. No.4,661,388, entitled, "Pad Fragrance Sampling Device", issued to J.Charbonneau on Apr. 28, 1987; U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,956, entitled, "OnPage Fragrance Sampling Device", issued to J. Charbonneau et al. on Aug.19, 1986; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,226, entitled, "StretchableMicrofragrance Delivery Article", issued to N. Sweeny on Jul. 9, 1985,all of which are hereby specifically incorporated by reference herein.

It will be appreciated that the desiccant 30, the antimicrobial agent32, the non-fogging agent and/or the bonding material 24 may cover asubstantial portion of one or more surfaces of the sheet of material 11.Alternatively, the antimicrobial agent 32, the non-fogging agent, thedesiccant 30, and/or the bonding material 24 may cover only limitedportions of the sheet of material 11. The desiccant 30, the non-foggingagent and/or antimicrobial agent 32 may be applied to a second sheet ofmaterial 34, this second sheet of material then connecting to the sheetof material 11. Turning to FIGS. 3 and 4, the sheet of material 11 asshown is FIGS. 1-2 is illustrated, but with a round aperture 33 therein.The round aperture 33 is covered by a second sheet of material 34, whichis also round, and which has an outer periphery which is slightly largerthan the circumference of the round aperture 33.

It will be appreciated that the second sheet of material 34 has all ofthe structures defined for the sheet of material 11. It will beappreciated that a plurality of second sheets of material 34 having anyone or any combination of antimicrobial agents 32, desiccants 34,non-fogging agents and/or bonding material 24 may be applied to thesheet of material 11 (not shown). It will further be understood that thesheet of material 11 may be free of bonding material 24 and/ordesiccants 30 and/or non-fogging agents and/or antimicrobial agents 32,wherein only one or more second sheets of material 34 have at least oneof the latter described features, the second sheets of material 34 beingconnected to the sheet of material 11 (not shown).

Embodiments of FIGS. 5-7

Referring now to FIG. 5, a modified sheet of material 11a is shown. Thesheet of material lib is identical to the sheet of material 11 shown inFIGS. 1-4 and described in detail previously, except that the sheet ofmaterial 11a is formed into a plurality of individual sheets of material11a which are connected linearly together to form a roll 36. Preferably,the plurality of sheets of material 11a in the roll 36 are connected byperforations 38, as illustrated in FIG. 5. Such a roll 36 permits onesheet of material 11a to be withdrawn from the roll 36, then severed ordisconnected from the roll 36. Alternatively, the roll 36 may simply beformed as a continuous roll 36 of material without perforations (notshown), wherein a plurality of sheets of material 11a may be removedfrom the roll 36 by unrolling a portion of the roll 36, and using aseparate cutting element (not shown) to sever the unrolled portion ofthe roll 36 of material to form the sheet of material 11a. The roll 36may also be contained within a dispenser 40, as illustrated in FIG. 6.When the roll 36 is disposed in the dispenser 40, a portion of thematerial is again unrolled, and a serrated cutting edge 42 containedwithin the dispenser 40, or a separate cutting element (not shown),severs the unrolled portion of the material from the roll 36 to form asheet of material 11a. Any number of sheets of material 11a may form aroll 36 as long as it is possible to withdraw at least one sheet ofmaterial 11a from the roll 36 as described herein. A roll 36 formed byone sheet of material is shown in FIG. 7.

Embodiments of FIGS. 8-9

Shown in FIG. 8 is a modified sheet of material 11b which is identicalto the sheet of material 11 shown in FIGS. 1-4 and described in detailpreviously, except that the sheet of material 11b is formed into aplurality of sheets of material 11b which are stacked and aligned one ontop of the other to form a pad 44 of sheets of material 11b.

The pad 44 comprises a top sheet 46 having a next sheet 48 disposeddirectly thereunder, with additional sheets of material 11b disposedunder the next sheet 48, all sheets collectively forming the pad 44 ofsheets of material 11b (one edge of the top sheet 46 lifted forillustration purposes only in FIG. 8). The sheets of material lib aregenerally aligned, and are connected together via a bonding material(not shown), such as, but not by way of limitation, a pressure sensitiveadhesive.

When the top sheet 46 of material lib is lifted and removed from the pad44, as shown in FIG. 9, the next sheet 48 becomes the new top sheet 46,and the sheet directly below the new top sheet 46 becomes the new nextsheet 48. This process is repeated, until all of the sheets of materiallib in the pad 44 are removed.

In operation, a floral grouping or flower pot may be placed on the topsheet 46 in the pad 44 and the top sheet 46 may be wrapped about thefloral grouping or flower pot and removed from the pad 44. Methods andmeans for forming a pad, using the sheets of material to wrap floralgroupings, and removing sheets from a pad are known in the art. Methodsof both forming a pad and wrapping floral groupings with sheets ofmaterial from a pad are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,364, entitled,"Wrapping A Floral Grouping With Sheets Having Adhesive Or CohesiveMaterial Applied Thereto", issued to Weder on Jan. 26, 1993, which ishereby incorporated by reference herein.

Embodiments of FIGS. 10-11

Shown in FIG. 10 is a modified roll 36c of breathable packaging material10c which comprises at least a first sheet of material 11c. The roll 36cof breathable packaging material 10c is constructed exactly like theroll 36 of breathable packaging material 10a and the sheet of material11 shown in FIGS. 1-4 and described in detail previously, except thatthe roll 36c of material 10c is not disposed in a dispenser constructedlike the dispenser 40c shown in FIG. 6. Rather, the roll 36c ofbreathable packaging material 10c is supported on a generally mountedshaft 50. The sheet of material 11c is withdrawn from the roll 36c ofbreathable packaging material 10c via a leading edge 52 until apredetermined length of the breathable packaging material 10c has beenwithdrawn from the roll 36c of breathable packaging material 10c. Inthis position, a portion of the breathable packaging material 10c isdisposed under a knife edge 54 having a plurality of edges. The knifeedge 54 is connected to an actuator 56 adapted to move the knife edge 54in a first shredding direction 58 and in a second direction 60. When thepredetermined length of the breathable packaging material 10c has beenwithdrawn from the roll 36c of breathable packaging material 10c, theactuator 56 actuates to move the knife edge 54 in the first direction 58to a position wherein the knife edge 54 severingly engages thebreathable packaging material 10c to shreddingly cut a plurality ofelongated portions of the breathable packaging material 10c from theroll 56c of breathable packaging material 10c. In another optional mode,the actuator 56 may then turn the knife edge 54 to a second direction 60wherein the knife edge 54 severingly re-engages the plurality ofelongated portions of the breathable packaging material 10c, therebycausing the elongated portions of the breathable packaging material 10cto be severed into small (or long) pieces, for use as glitter, sequins,labels, decals, confetti, tinsel, decorating grass, and the like (itwill be appreciated that this process is represented schematically inthe drawings), as shown in FIG. 11. The actuator 56 may comprise ahydraulic or pneumatic cylinder or a motor and gear arrangement or anyother form of arrangement suitable for moving the knife edge 54 in thedirections 58 and 60. After the knife edge 54 has cuttingly severed thedesired portion of sheet of breathable packaging material 10c from theroll 36c of breathable packaging material 10c, the actuator 56 isactuated to move the knife edge 54 in the storage direction 62 to astorage position disposed a distance above the breathable packagingmaterial 10c as opposed to the cutting position previously described.Alternatively, the leading edge 52 may be run across a first knife edge54 (not shown) set in the surface to form the elongated strips ofbreathable packaging material 10c, wherein the actuator 56 actuates asecond knife edge (not shown) to cross-cut the elongated strips ofbreathable packaging material 10c into small pieces. Apparatus andmethods for making decorative shredded materials and the like isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,388, entitled, "Apparatus For ProducingWeighed Charges Of Loosely Aggregated Filamentary Material", issued toWeder et al. on Mar. 3, 1987, which is hereby incorporated by referenceherein.

Embodiments of FIGS. 12-15

Turning now to FIGS. 12-15, as noted previously, the sheet of material11d may be used to wrap a floral grouping 64. "Floral grouping" as usedherein means cut fresh flowers, artificial flowers, a single flowerother fresh and/or artificial plants or other floral materials and mayinclude other secondary plants and/or ornamentation or artificial ornatural materials which add to the aesthetics of the overall floralarrangement. The floral grouping comprises a bloom (or foliage) portion66 and a stem portion 68. However, it will be appreciated that thefloral grouping 64 may consist of only a single bloom or only foliage(not shown). The term "floral grouping" may be used interchangeablyherein with the term "floral arrangement".

In a method of use, a modified sheet of material lid is provided, whichis identical to the sheet of material 11 shown in FIG. 1 and describedin detail previously, except that the sheet of material lid has a stripof bonding material 24d disposed on the upper surface 12d and near thefirst side 16d of the sheet of material lid, the strip extending betweenthe third side 20d, and the fourth side 22d, of the sheet of material11d.

A floral grouping 64 having a stem portion 68 and a bloom portion 66(FIG. 12) is disposed on the upper surface 12d of the sheet of materiallid. The sheet of material 11d then is wrapped about the floral grouping64 by taking the second side 18d, of the sheet of material 11d androlling the sheet of material 11d in a direction 70 about the floralgrouping 64 (FIGS. 12-13). The sheet of material lid is continued rolledabout the floral grouping 64 until a portion of the bonding material 24dis disposed adjacent a portion of the lower surface 14d of the sheet ofmaterial 11d and brought into bonding contact or engagement therewith(FIGS. 13-14) thereby bondingly connecting the bonding material 24d onthe upper surface 12d of the sheet of material 11d to a portion of thelower surface 14d of the sheet of material 11d for cooperating to securethe sheet of material lid in a wrapped condition about the floralgrouping 64 to provide a wrapper 72 wrapped about the floral grouping64, as shown in FIG. 14.

In the wrapped condition with the sheet of material 11d wrapped aboutthe floral grouping 64 as shown in FIG. 14, the wrapper 72 forms aconical shaped with an opened upper end 74 and an opened lower end 76.The wrapper 72 covers a portion of the bloom portion 66 of the floralgrouping 64. A portion of the stem portion 68 of the floral grouping 64extends through the opened lower end 76 of the wrapper 72. The wrapper72 is tightly wrapped about the stem portion 66 of the floral grouping64. The bonding material 24d on the sheet of material lid may contactand engage some of the stem portion 68 of the floral grouping 64 tocooperate in securing the wrapper 72 tightly wrapped about the stemportion 68 and to prevent the floral grouping 64 from slipping or movingwithin the wrapper 72.

At least a portion of the floral grouping 64 is disposed within thewrapper 72. In some applications, the stem portion 68 of the floralgrouping 64 extends through the open lower end 76 of the wrapper 72, asdescribed before. In other applications, the stem portion 68 does notextend through the open lower end 76 of the wrapper 72. In someapplications, the wrapper 72 is tightly wrapped about the stem portion68 of the floral grouping 64. The bloom portion 66 of the floralgrouping 64 is disposed near the open upper end 74 of the wrapper 72 andthe bloom portion 66 of the floral grouping 64 is visible via the openupper end 74 of the wrapper 72. In some instances, the bloom portion 66of the floral grouping 64 may extend beyond the open upper end 74 of thewrapper 72. It will be appreciated that the open upper end 74 of thewrapper 72 may be closed by a flap (not shown) or any other method knownin the art. Similarly, it will be understood that the open lower end 76may be closed in the same manner as that described for the open upperend 74. It will be further appreciated that the floral grouping 64 maybe sealed within the wrapper 72, or within any wrapper and/or packageshown and/or described herein.

The wrapper 72, as shown in FIG. 14, is generally conically shaped. Thesheet of material lid may also be wrapped about the floral grouping 64to form a cylindrically shaped wrapper 78 as shown in FIG. 15 or anyother shape wrapper if desired in a particular application.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,364, entitled, "Wrapping A Floral Grouping WithSheets Having An Adhesive Or Cohesive Material Applied Thereto", issuedto Weder et al. on Jan. 26, 1993, which has been incorporated byreference herein above, discloses methods of wrapping a floral groupingin a cylindrically-shaped wrapper.

Embodiments of FIGS. 16-20

Referring now to FIGS. 16-20, as noted above, a sheet of material 11 maybe used to provide a decorative cover 80 for an object such as a flowerpot 82 or a potted plant. The term "flower pot" refers to any type ofcontainer used for holding a floral grouping 64 or a potted plant.Examples of flower pots 82 used in accordance with the present inventioninclude, but not by way of limitation, clay pots, plastic pots, woodenpots, pots made from natural and/or synthetic fiber, and the like.

The flower pot 82 has an open upper end 84, a closed lower end 86, andan outer peripheral surface 88. An opening 90 intersects the open upperend 84 forming an inner peripheral surface 92 and a retaining space 94.

A modified sheet of material 11e, identical to the sheet of material 11shown in FIG. 1 is provided, except that the sheet of material 11e haseither a bonding material 24e disposed substantially thereon, or isformed at least partially from a shape-sustaining material, or both. Tocover the object, the sheet of material 11e may be manually orautomatically formed about the outer peripheral surface 88 of the pot 82or potted plant. Or, the sheet of material 11e may be formed into apreformed decorative cover 80 which is then placed about the outerperipheral surface 88 of the pot 82 or potted plant.

In a method of use, referring to FIGS. 16-18, to form a sheet ofmaterial 11e into a decorative cover 80 about a pot 82, both a flowerpot 82 and a sheet of material 11e is provided. The pot 82 is disposedupon the upper surface 12e of the sheet of material 11e, so that thelower end 86 of the pot 82 rests upon a portion of the upper surface12e.

In one embodiment of a manual application of the sheet of material 11eabout the pot 82, the upper surface 12e of the sheet of material 11e isformed about the outer peripheral surface 88 of the pot 82 (FIGS. 17 and18), thereby engaging the outer peripheral surface 88 of the pot 82 toform a decorative cover 80 about the pot 82 as shown in FIG. 18, in amanner which is known to those having ordinary skill in the art. Thelower surface 14e of the sheet of material lie thereby becomes the outersurface 96 of the decorative cover 80.

Another method for wrapping the sheet of material 11e about a pot 82 forforming such a decorative cover 80 is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,521,entitled, "Cover Forming Apparatus", issued to Weder et al., on Mar. 29,1988, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. A decorativecover 80 formed by wrapping the sheet of material 11e about the flowerpot 82 may be secured to the outer peripheral surface 88 of the pot 82by the use of one or more bonding materials described herein. Oneparticular method of securing the decorative cover 80 to the pot 82 isby applying a band (not shown) about the pot 82 to hold the decorativecover 80 in place such as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,599,entitled "Means For Securing A Decorative Cover About A Flower Pot",issued to Weder on Apr. 21, 1992 and which is hereby incorporated hereinby reference.

The term "band" when used herein means any material which may be securedabout an object such as a flower pot, such bands commonly being referredto as elastic bands, rubber bands or non-elastic bands and also includesany other type of material such as an elastic or non-elastic string orelastic piece of material, non-elastic piece of material, a round pieceof material, a flat piece of material, a ribbon, a piece of paper strip,a piece of plastic strip, a piece of wire, a tie wrap or a twist tie orcombinations thereof or any other device capable of gathering the sheetof material to removably or substantially permanently form a crimpedportion and secure the crimped portion formed in the sheet of materialwhich may be secured about an object such as the flower pot. The bandalso may include a bow if desired in a particular application.

Alternatively, the sheet of material lie may be preformed into adecorative cover 80' having an opening 90' as shown in FIGS. 19-20. Thedecorative cover 80' is self-supporting by virtue of overlapping foldswhich are bonded to each other, thereby forming a rigid structure, asshown in FIGS. 19-20. It will be appreciated that the self-supportingdecorative cover 80' has the same structural features as thosepreviously described for a pot 82. A potted plant 98 can be disposedinto the opening 90' of a preformed cover 80', thereby resulting in adecoratively covered potted plant 98 as shown in FIG. 21. Alternatively,the decorative preformed cover 80' may be used as a pot 82.

One method for forming such a preformed plant cover or pot cover isshown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,182, entitled, "Article Forming System",issued to Weder et al. on Sep. 27, 1988, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference.

The decorative cover, whether formed manually or by an automatic meansknown in the art or described herein, may be sealed about the pot 82 andfloral grouping contained therein by gathering the edges of thedecorative cover upward and sealing them together via a bonding material24e or a band, thereby creating a sealed package FIGS. 31-32.Alternatively, a sheet of material 11 as shown and described herein maybe disposed over the floral grouping 64 and upper portion of thedecorative cover 80, and may be connected to the decorative cover 80 bybanding, bonding material, or any method or means known in the art (notshown).

The term "potted plant" as used herein means a plant having a bloom orfoliage portion 66' and a stem portion 68' as well as a root portionFIGS. 31-33, the root portion disposed in a growing medium 100. The term"potted plant" as used herein also includes botanical items andpropagules.

The term "botanical item" when used herein means a natural or artificialherbaceous or woody plant, taken singly or in combination. The term"botanical item" also means any portion or portions of natural orartificial herbaceous or woody plants including stems, leaves, flowers,blossoms, buds, blooms, cones, or roots, taken singly or in combination,or in groupings of such portions such as bouquet or floral grouping.

The term "propagule" when used herein means any structure capable ofbeing propagated or acting as an agent of reproduction including seeds,shoots, stems, runners, tubers, plants, leaves, roots or spores.

The term "growing medium" when used herein means any liquid, solid orgaseous material used for plant growth or for the cultivation ofpropagules, including organic and inorganic materials such as soil,humus, perlite, vermiculite, sand, water, and including the nutrients,fertilizers or hormones or combinations thereof required by the plantsor propagules for growth.

The Embodiments of FIGS. 21-27

Shown in FIGS. 21-28 and designated therein by the general referencenumeral 102 is a modified sheet of material forming a wrapper for afloral grouping, which is constructed from the sheet of material 11,shown in FIGS. 1-4 and described in detail herein previously. Thewrapper 102 comprises a sleeve 104 which is generally tubular in shape.The sleeve 104 has a first end 106, a second end 108, an outerperipheral surface 110 and an opening 112 intersecting both the firstend 106 and the second end 108, forming an inner peripheral surface 114and providing a retaining space 116 therein. In some embodiments (notshown), the second end 108 is closed, forming a closed end (not shown),and the opening 112 only intersects the first end 106 of the sleeve 104.Sleeves, and their construction, are well known in the art and sleevesare commercially available, as are various devices and mechanismscapable of forming sleeves.

The wrapper 102 further comprises both the sleeve 104 and a floralgrouping 64f (FIG. 22). The sleeve is adapted to receive a floralgrouping 64f within the retaining space 116. The floral grouping 64f(FIG. 22) may be disposed in the opening 112 in the sleeve 104 andcontained substantially in the receiving space 116 of the sleeve 104, aswill be described in detail below.

A bonding material 24f may be disposed on at least a portion of theinner peripheral surface 114 of the sleeve 104 (not shown), or,alternatively, the bonding material 24f may be disposed on the outerperipheral surface 110 of the sleeve 104, as illustrated in FIG. 24, or,in a further alternative, the bonding material 24f may be disposed onboth the inner peripheral surface 114 and the outer peripheral surface110 of the sleeve 104 (not shown).

The bonding material 24f may further comprise a color, or a combinationof colors, as previously described herein. Further, the bonding material24f may comprise at least a portion of a design on the sleeve 104."Designs," as used herein, are defined as any geometric form, or anycombination of geometric forms, for example, squares, round spots,triangles, rectangles, octagonals, or the like (not shown) . "Designs"are further defined as any non-geometric, asymmetrical or fancifulforms, or any combination thereof, for example, but not by way oflimitation, hearts, balloons, flowers, lace, slogans, logos, print (anycombination of letters and/or numbers) , signs, human forms (real andfictional) animal forms (real and fictional), cartoon characters, and/orplant forms. It will be appreciated that such "designs" may be utilizedon any embodiment shown and/or described herein.

Such a design may comprise a color, or a portion of a color, or anycombination of colors. Alternatively, at least a portion of the designmay be colorless, translucent, transparent, opaque, pearlescent,iridescent, or the like.

The sleeve 104 is generally tubularly shaped, but the sleeve 104 may be,by way of example but not by way of limitation, cylindrical, conical,frusto-conical, or a combination of both frusto-conical and cylindrical(not shown). Further, as long as the sleeve is capable of receiving afloral grouping 64f, any shape of sleeve 104, whether geometric,non-geometric, asymmetrical and/or fanciful, may be utilized.

In a general method of use, illustrated in FIGS. 22-24, at least aportion of the floral grouping 64f is disposed within the sleeve 104. Insome applications, the stem portion 68f of the floral grouping 64fextends into the sleeve 104 via the open first end 106, extendingthrough the open second end 108 of the sleeve 104 and beyond the opensecond end 108. The bloom portion 66f of the floral grouping 64f istherefore disposed near the open first end 106 of the sleeve 104 and thebloom portion 66f of the floral grouping 64f is visible via the openfirst end 106 of the sleeve 104. (FIG. 22). In some instances, the bloomportion 66f of the floral grouping 64f may extend above the open firstend 106 of the sleeve 104. In some applications, the first end 106 ofthe sleeve 104 may be closed if desired (not shown). In somecircumstances, the second end 108 of the sleeve 104 may be closed ifdesired (not shown). It will be appreciated than when the sleeve 104 isclosed at both the first end 106 and the second end 108, the sleeve 104may be sealed about the floral grouping 64f therein, forming abreathable wrapper/package.

In one method of use (FIGS. 21-24), an operator provides a sleeve 104(FIG. 21), and a floral grouping 64f (FIG. 22). The operator thendisposes the floral grouping 64f into the sleeve 104 by opening thesleeve 104 at the first end 106 and assuring both that the opening 112therein is in an open condition, and that the inner peripheral surface114 of the sleeve 104 is somewhat expanded outward as well, theretaining space 116 sized to receive the floral grouping 64f, as shownin FIG. 21. The operator then disposes the floral grouping 64f into theopening 112 in the sleeve 104 and the retaining space 116 by insertingfirst the stem portion 68f of the floral grouping 64f into the retainingspace 116 of the sleeve 104 via the opening in the first end 106, in amanner which permits a portion of the stem portion 68f to be disposed inthe retaining space 116 adjacent the second end 108 of the sleeve 104,the second end 108 generally having the narrowest diameter. In insertingthe floral grouping 64f into the sleeve 104 in this manner, the bloomportion 66f is also disposed in the retaining space 116 of the sleeve104 and the bloom portion 66f is disposed adjacent the first end 106 ofthe sleeve 104, the first end 106 having generally having the widestdiameter. In this method, at least a portion of the stem portion 68f ofthe floral grouping 64f extends slightly beyond the second end 108 ofthe sleeve 104, and the bloom portion 66f of the floral grouping 64f isclearly visible at the open first end 112 of the sleeve 104, as shown inFIG. 22.

The sleeve 104 may then be crimped about the floral grouping 64f, asshown in FIGS. 23-24. The crimping operation is conducted by an operatorafter the floral grouping 64f is disposed in the sleeve 104 by crimpingat least a portion of the sleeve 104 in the area of the stem portion 68fof the floral grouping 64f, at least a portion of the bonding material24f being disposed on this area to retain the crimped sleeve 104 in thecrimped condition. Such crimping may be conducted by hand, by graspingand substantially encompassing with one or more hands the second end 108of the sleeve 104 in the area of the bonding material 24f and evenly andfirmly squeezing that portion of the sleeve 104 about the area havingthe bonding material 24f, thereby pressing and gathering both the sleeve104 and the bonding material 24f against itself and about the stemportion 68f of the floral grouping 64f. The sleeve 104 may also becrimped by using both a crimping motion (as described above) and aturning motion to create a twisted crimping, resulting in a sleeve 104which is both crimped as previously described, and which is twistedabout at least a portion of the stem portion 68f of the floral grouping64f, the sleeve 104 near the stem portion 68f being rotated for examplebut not by way of limitation, about the stem portion 68f between aboutone-eighth of a turn to about a full turn (not shown).

When the sleeve is crimped, a plurality of overlapping folds are formedin the crimped area. The plurality of overlapping folds 118 (only oneoverlapping fold designated by the numeral 118) resulting from thegathered, crimped material of the sleeve 104 may be connected, that is,all portions of the overlapping breathable packaging material 10f of thesleeve 104 are bondingly connected together via bonding material 24f. Aplurality of overlapping folds 118 may be formed by hand, duringcrimping, or by mechanical means. Such mechanical means are disclosedgenerally in "Article Forming System," which has been previouslyincorporated by reference herein. Alternatively, the crimping may beconducted in a manner in which not all of the plurality of overlappingfolds 40 are bondingly connected together. It will be appreciated thatthe plurality of overlapping folds 118 (connected or unconnected) areformed primarily in the crimped area. Such crimping as described abovemay also be conducted by any device or mechanism known in the art andused for gathering or crimping materials.

Alternatively, the sleeve may remain uncrimped. The bonding material 24fdisposed upon the sleeve 104 may cause the sleeve 104 to bondinglyconnect to portions of itself, causing the sleeve 104 to conform, eithergenerally, or closely (depending, as will be appreciated, upon theamount of bonding material 24f and the amount of the breathablepackaging material lof of the sleeve 104 which overlaps and connects toitself) to the floral grouping 64f.

When the floral grouping 64f is disposed in the sleeve 104 by any methoddescribed herein or known in the art, the sleeve 104 substantiallysurrounds and encompasses a substantial portion of the floral grouping64f. When the sleeve 104 is disposed about the floral grouping 64f, thesleeve 104 forms a wrapper 72 which provides breathable packaging(breathable wrapper/package) for the floral grouping 64f containedtherein.

It will be appreciated that the sleeve 104 has sufficient flexibilitybut also sufficient rigidity to both remain in and sustain its generalshape, thereby substantially surrounding and encompassing the floralgrouping 64f.

As illustrated in FIGS. 25-27, the sleeve 104 may also extend over theouter peripheral surface 88f of a flower pot 82f. The sleeve 104 maycomprise at least a portion of a decorative cover 80 (if the upperportion 120 of the sleeve 104 tears away from the lower portion 122 ofthe sleeve 104 via vertical perforations 124 and/or circumferentialperforations 126 extending about the sleeve 104 near or above the levelof the open upper end 84f of the pot 82f, as illustrated in FIGS. 25-27)or, alternatively, the sleeve 104 may extend over a pot 82f alreadycovered by a decorative cover (not shown), the sleeve 104 often beingtorn away from the decorative cover 80f after shipment and delivery (notshown). The sleeve 104 may have a bonding material 24f disposedthereupon such that the second end 108 of the sleeve 104 will connect tothe pot 82f (not shown). Alternatively, a bonding material 24f may bedisposed upon the outer peripheral surface 88f of the flower pot (notshown). In a further alternative, the bonding material 24f may bedisposed on both the pot 82f and the sleeve 104 (not shown). The flowerpot 82f may contain a floral grouping 64f disposed therein.

It will be appreciated that the method of disposing a flower pot 82finto the sleeve 104 is generally substantially similar to the methoddescribed above for disposing a floral grouping 64f into a sleeve 104.

It will be further understood that the sleeve 104 may be sealed aboutthe pot 82f with floral grouping 64f therein. The sleeve may comprise aclosed upper portion 120 (not shown). Similarly, the sleeve 104 may sealto the pot 82 via a bonding material as previously described, or thesleeve may comprise a closed lower portion 122 (not shown). Or,alternatively, the upper portion 120 of the sleeve 104 may be sealed toitself above the level of the floral grouping 64f via any method ofmeans described herein or known in the art (not shown). Such a sealedsleeve 104 forms a breathable package and/or wrapper about the pot82f/floral grouping 64f combination.

The Embodiment of FIG. 28

Shown in FIG. 28 and designated therein by the general reference numeral128 is a single flower wrapper formed from a modified sheet of material11g for a floral grouping constructed from the sheet of material 11f, asshown in either FIG. 1-4 or FIGS. 21-27 and described in detail hereinpreviously. In this example, the wrapper 128 is identical to the sleeve104g above, except that the wrapper 128 is a narrow tubular shape whichis constructed to accommodate a floral grouping 64g comprising generallyonly a single bloom portion 66g and stem portion 68g. It will beappreciated that the wrapper may comprise a single sheet of material, ora plurality of sheets of material.

The method of use of the wrapper 128 is identical to the method of useshown in FIGS. 21-24. If a single sheet of material is used, the methodof use is identical to that shown for FIGS. 12-15 and described indetail herein above.

The Embodiments of FIGS. 29-30

Shown in FIGS. 29-30 and designated therein by the general referencenumeral 11h is a modified sheet of material forming a breathable package130 for fresh produce 132, the sheet of material 11h being constructedexactly like the sheet of material 11, shown in FIGS. 1-4 and describedin detail herein previously, except that the sheet of material 1h istransparent, and except that the sheet of material 11h has a bondingmaterial 24h disposed near the outer periphery 15h of the sheet ofmaterial 11h.

In a method of use, the above-referenced sheet of material 11hisprovided, as is at least one item of fresh produce, in this instance, anapple. "Fresh produce", as used herein, includes, but not by way oflimitation, fresh vegetables, meat, fruit, dairy products, and the like."Food" as used herein means any edible item. At least one item of freshproduce 132 is placed on the upper surface 12h of the sheet of material11h, as shown in FIG. 29, the item being disposed near the first side16h of the sheet of material 11h.

A portion of the sheet of material 11h is shown overlapped over the itemof fresh produce 132 (termed the overlapping portion 134), and thebonding material 24h of the overlapping portion of the sheet of material11h is then aligned with the non-overlapping portion 136 of the sheet ofmaterial 11h upon which the item of fresh produce 132 rests. The bondingmaterial 24h of the overlapping portion is then brought into contact andsealed to the bonding material 24h of the non-overlapping portion of thesheet of material 11h as shown in FIG. 30, thereby sealing the item offresh produce 132 within the sheet of material 11h, forming a breathablepackage 130. It will be appreciated that medical supplies/equipment (notshown) may be wrapped in a similar manner. It will further be understoodthat other similar as well as dissimilar methods of wrapping freshproduce and/or medical equipment/supplies are known in the art. "Medicalsupplies/equipment" as used herein means any disposable ornon-disposable item, such as, but not by way of limitation, forceps,sutures, bandages, retractors, and the like.

Further, is will be understood that pharmaceutical products may bewrapped in a similar manner. It will further be understood that othersimilar as well as dissimilar methods of wrapping pharmaceuticalproducts are known in the art. "Pharmaceutical products" as used hereinincludes, but is not limited to, capsules, tablets, containerscontaining pharmaceutical products, and the like.

It will be understood that any embodiment shown and/or described herein,or portion of any embodiment, may be combined with any other embodimentor portion thereof as illustrated and/or described herein. Similarly, itwill be appreciated that any method shown and/or described herein, orany step or portion of any method may be combined with any other methodor steps thereof shown and/or described herein. To this end, it will beappreciated that all materials and methods for wrapping, formingdecorative covers, forming wrappers, and the like shown and/or describedherein may comprise or be formed into breathable packages, i.e.,packages having controlled atmosphere characteristics.

Changes may be made in the construction and the operation of the variouscomponents, elements and assemblies described herein or in the steps orthe sequence of steps of the methods described herein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A package, comprising:a sheet of material havingan upper surface, a lower surface and an outer periphery, the sheet ofmaterial having controlled atmosphere characteristics, the sheet ofmaterial further comprising a desiccant, an antimicrobial agent, and anon-fogging agent; and an item packaged within said sheet of materialsuch that the controlled atmosphere characteristics of the sheet ofmaterial in combination with the desiccant, the antimicrobial agent andthe non-fogging agent provide both a prolongation of the freshness ofthe item and optimal visual display of the item by preventing fogging ofthe sheet of material and absorbing excess moisture and inhibitinggrowth of microorganisms on the item.
 2. The package of claim 1 whereinthe item is a floral grouping.
 3. The package of claim 1 wherein theitem is fresh produce.
 4. The package of claim 1 wherein the item isfood.
 5. A package, comprising:a pot having a peripheral surface and aretaining space; a floral grouping having a bloom portion and a stemportion, the floral grouping disposed in the retaining space of the potsuch that the bloom portion of the floral grouping extends from theretaining space of the pot; and a sheet of material having an uppersurface, a lower surface, and an outer periphery, the sheet of materialhaving controlled atmosphere characteristics, a desiccant, anantimicrobial agent, a non-fogging agent, and a bonding material, thebonding material selected from the group consisting of an adhesive, acohesive, and a lacquer, the bonding material disposed on at least aportion of one surface of the sheet of material, the sheet of materialformed into a breathable package having a decorative cover portion and adetachable upper portion, the cover portion sized to substantiallysurround and encompass the outer peripheral surface of the pot and theupper portion sized to substantially surround and encompass the bloomportion of the floral grouping, the upper portion being gathered aboutthe bloom portion of the floral grouping and sealed thereabout via thebonding material of the sheet of material thereby sealing the pot andthe floral grouping in the sheet of material such that the controlledatmosphere characteristics of the sheet of material in combination withthe desiccant, the antimicrobial agent and the non-fogging agent provideboth a prolongation of the freshness of the floral grouping and optimalvisual display of the floral grouping by preventing fogging of the sheetof material and absorbing excess moisture and inhibiting growth ofmicroorganisms on the floral grouping.